In addition to writing this book, they have also established the Hood–Williamson Research Archives, which houses their extensive data on the subject. Hood and Williamson's book represents over fifteen years of research among the Pentecostal serpent‐handling churches of the Appalachian region. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2008. THEM THAT BELIEVE: THE POWER AND MEANING OF THE CHRISTIAN SERPENT‐HANDLING TRADITION. The authors seem to feel that it is their job to justify serpent handling to the academic world, and perhaps with good reason because there have been past scholars who have maligned the tradition. From biological explanations of snakes, to an analysis of church music, to the history of Pentecostalism, to an investigation of near‐death experiences, Hood and Williamson attempt to detail every aspect of this tradition, arguing that handling serpents is a legitimate religious practice that has all too often been considered illegitimate or just plain bizarre. Employing quantitative and qualitative methods of sociology, psychology, history, and anthropology, their ethnography provides a multifaceted and comprehensive view of the serpent‐handling tradition.

Paul Williamson Them That Believe: The Power And Meaning of the Christian Serpent‐Handling Tradition – By Ralph.

Them That Believe: The Power And Meaning of the Christian Serpent‐Handling Tradition – By Ralph W.

Them That Believe by Ralph W. Hood Jr.